Hollow foldable display



1966 N. G. JANNES 3,267,597

HOLLOW FOLDABLE DISPLAY Filed Jan. 27, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN'TOR.

2W & Mia

N. G JANNES Aug. 23, 1966 HOLLOW FOLDABLE DISPLAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 27, 1964 I INVENTOR. Mafia/as G zluzzzes United States Patent l 3,267,597 HOLLOW FOLDABLE DISPLAY Nicholas G. James, 161 W. Huron St., Chicago 10, Ill. Filed Jan. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 340,174 1 Claim. (Cl. 40-126) This invention relates in general to a folding and expanding display which may be made in various shapes and sizes, particularly for advertising purposes, for ornaments, and for showing various slogans, greetings, and the like, and in resilient expandible form which usually takes shape and form automatically when released from confinement such as in removing a folded device from a mailing or containing envelope.

An important object of the invention is to provide a new and improved foldable display which may be cut, scored, and folded or prepared upon a single sheet of light, flexible, and easily folded, and equipped with an elastic motor means, impeller, or projector which causes the display to extend and expand automatically from a flat folded condition to an expanded hollow display as soon as the restraint of holding it in a folded condition is removed.

A further and particular object of this invention is to provide a display of this kind which may be inserted in folded condition into an ordinary mailing envelope, and which will spring outwardly into the hollow and expanded form as soon as it is removed from the envelope.

A further object of the invention is to utilize a rubber band as a motive means, so connected to the parts of the display that it will be distended to a predetermined extent, limited by the signs of the parts. I

Other objects of the invention are: to limit the expansion of the display; to provide a material which is easily colored, printed, or ornamented upon the outer or exposed side; to make the display with different numbers of sides, differing in sizes and shapes, but still hollow and closed when expanded; and preferably to utilize a single sheet of thin, resilient, and foldable material such as paper, cardboard, or plastic, which is both light and strong, relatively inexpensive, and easily available.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the specification, and will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, in which,

FIG. 1 is a flat face view showing the cutting, scoring and fold lines of about half of one sheet of which a twelve sided display is made; FIG. 2 is a section taken on the center of FIG. 1, showing the parts partially folded, ready to be drawn together by an elastic band; FIG. 3 is a side view of a folded display, showing how it may be opened by compression of opposite sides; FIG. 4 is an end view of the folded structure of FIG. 3; and FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are corresponding views of a completely scored and cut sheet, partially folded, with side apex opening, bottom, and end views respectively of a six sided extendable display, with three similar, equal sides on each side of the center, and opposite extending apices which may be compressed against an inserted band to partially open the display as indicated in FIG. 7.

A great advantage of the present invention is that a single sheet of material is prepared to receive a single elastic motor device, usually in the form of an ordinary rubber band, and by connecting the latter within the interior of the parts when folded, they are drawn inwardly together and some of the facets are projected laterally, restrained by contact with similar portions, and common centers are extended, together forming a hollow structure with different numbers of panels or facets, but each form being foldable, confined, and automatically distended to a limited extent to form a closed hollow display.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a

Patented August 23, 1966 twelve faceted form is shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and a six faceted and hollow device is shown in FIGS. 5 to 9. These two devices are similar in the respects that both are made from a single sheet of material, each has two similar sides with a common center line, each side has a common center for its facets, the facets of opposite sides have abutting means to limit their movement together, and a common elastic band is all that is needed for closing the sides and drawing them together. The two forms are shown to indicate that similar hollow displays with different numbers of panels or facets maybe produced operating substantially in the same way, by means of an elastic motor, but having a different number of facets grouped about a common axis or center.

In a display as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, six triangular facets 10 are grouped around a common center 12, they are connected laterally by hinge lines 14, and the bases 16 when extended do not meet, but have a separation space 18 in which they may be drawn together. Draw ing the bases 16 together, in the space 18, causes the common centers to be displaced relative to the bases 16 forming a hollow angular dish.

Each assembly of facets 10 is joined to an opposite or similar assembly in a common hinge or central fold line 20 which has contact only with one other facet 10, but the facets on one side of the center line may not be symmetrical about the one facet 10 which joins the opposite facet 10 on the other side of the center line 20. If the facets are equal in number, as in FIG. 3 they will not be symmetrical, but if the number of facets is odd, as in FIG. 5, the facets will be symmetrically arranged, about the center one.

Each of the outer facets 10 has an outward angular projection 22 hinged to and extending outwardly therefrom and less in the extent of the sides than that of facet to which it is connected. The middle facet 10 connected at its base through the central fold line 20 has no such projections but between the bases 16 of the facets on both sides of this middle one is a connected fold projection 24 which continues to a similar fold projection on the opposite side of the central fold 20 through a continuation 26, so that each fold projection 24 has two fold lines, one 16 at the bottom or base of its panel 10 and the other connected fold line 26, adapting the two connected fold projections 24 at each side of the middle facets 10 to fold inwardly upon each other. To make a smooth and easy fold at the joint of the three members, a small triangular opening 29 is located in the two connected fold projections 24 and does not appear in the outer surface of the display.

In the outer edges of the two fold projections are two corresponding undercut hooks 28 for engaging the ends of an elastic rubber band 30 looped into engagement therewith.

In assembling this construction, the two sides of the display are bent together on the fold line 20, all of the projections are turned inwardly between the sides abutting each other, with the two connected fold projections 24 on each side against each other, and the undercut books 28 in register.

The projection 22 of the outermost facets 10 of opposite sides while abutting may be positively connected by staples 32 inserted therethrough while the outer facets 10 are spaced apart, and the closure of this space 18 will cause each side to project its center 12 outward, thereby forming a hollow-faceted structure with six panels or facets on each side. To keep the structure in permanent resilient closed position the elastic band 30 may be connected in the hooks 28, thus drawing both sides together and closing the spaces 18.

For suspending this display, a small ribbon opening 36 may be provided near one center 12 or a ribbon 38 a? may be attached within the display and protrude through either opening 26.

To take display down, the panels it are moved apart in the space 18, the elastic band 30 is disengaged from one or both hooks 28, and the staples 32 may be removed. As the outer sides of the facets it) are all visible they may be painted, printed, or otherwise ornamented or decorated to form an advertising or ornamenting de vice.

In the form of the display shown by FIGS. to 9, a six panel or faceted device is shown having three triangular facets 40 symmetrically arranged on each side of a central fold line 42. One facet 40 on each side has its base upon the fold line 42, and this facet is connected on each of its other two sides by fold lines 44. The outer sides of these other two panels extend angularly apart in the space 46, but the three similar facets on each side have a common center 48 about which each side is foldable.

The two outer and projecting facets have projections 50' connected by fold lines 52 but extend less angularly than the facets, so that they abut when the two sides are folded together about their center line 42. To hold the two sides together, a projection 50 on one side has a slit 54 in the fold line 52, and the opposite projection has a U-shaped cut forming a tongue 56 extending from the line SZadapted to engage in the slit 54.

In order to attach arubber band 58, opposite ends 60 of the fold line 4-2 are cut through to stop holes 62, bands 58 are placed around the device, pulled through the cuts 42, seated in the stop holes 62, and looped over one or both tongues 56 within the facets. After the tongues 56 are inserted in the slits 54, abutting the projections 50 of opposite sides, the action of the rubber band is first to close the space 46 by drawing the facets together, and then to project the centers 48 outwardly, forming a hollow resilient, faceted display, having a different number of facets than the form first described, and the sides of this device being the same on both sides of the center folding line, are not unsymmetrical as in FIGS. 1 to 4.

In this form a suspension hole 62 may be provided for a ribbon or cord 64 by means of which it may be hung or mounted for display.

These constructions may be sprung apart by pressing on opposite centers, which presses the displays to flatter form, pressing upon the rubber bands, and opening the displays to the extent provided. The display may then be inserted in an envelope, or another confining holder, from which it will spring to its intended hollow form, when the envelope or other restraint is removed. In this form and use theyprovide an attractive display device either for advertising purposes, or may be retained and suspended for attractive and ornamental purposes.

This six faceted display may be taken apart by re versing the order of its assembly, which is also the general rule for dis-assembly of the twelve facet display. To increase the number of display facets in a hollow device is not simply an expansion or multiplication of parts, but may be made with some similarity of construction and operation.

These displays may be made of Wood, plastics, metals and other suitable materials, and with metal or other flexible hinges. They need not be held in envelopes, but may be restrained by paper clips, folding, and the like, to prevent extension by rubber bands, springs, or other flexible means. The facets may be made of different sheets or other materials connected by glue, hinges, or staples.

By making these displays of other materials, they may also be adapted for additional purposes, by compressing their opposite apices and springing them apart as indicated in the dotted lines in FIG. 3 for the twelve-sided form, and in FIG. 7 in the six-sided form. Thus they may find use as shelters, hats, large window displays, hat boxes and other re-usable containers, ladies purses, boats (canoes), childrens puppets, and other opening jaws of fishes, animals, and the like caused by springing apart the jaws by pressing the opposite sides apart, as stated above.

While these two hollow display devices have been described in some detail, they should be regarded by way of illustration and example rather than as restrictions or limitations of the invention, as various changes may be made in the construction, combination, and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

In a hollow foldable display,

(a) a single sheet of flexible material cut, scored, and

folded to similar facets on opposite sides of a common center line;

(b) a triangular facet on each side having a base hinged to a similar facet base;

(c) other triangular facets hinged to the sides of (b) and having a common center;

(d) the facets on each side of the said center line having an angular omitted space, allowing the bases of said facets (c) to be drawn together in a common plane about said center which projects therefrom;

(e) projections from the bases of said facets extending inwardly together;

(f) means connecting some of said projections together to abut and limit the movement together of each structure (d);

(g) some of the projecting facets having engaging hook means formed therein;

(h) and an elastic band to engage said hooks (l) to draw the facets of each half of (d) together; (2) to draw each pair of halves together.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,601,374 6/1952 Ditzler 40126 FOREIGN PATENTS 467,854 6/1937 Great Britain. 876,742 9/1961 Great Britain.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

WENCELSO J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner. 

